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Edmonton fans flocking to Florida to cheer on Oilers in Stanley Cup final

Edmonton Oilers fans are travelling to Sunrise, Fla., for the opening games of the Stanley Cup final, as their team tries to hoist the trophy for the sixth time in franchise history.

Game 1 is at 6 p.m. MT on Saturday

Nicholas Frew · CBC News ·
A middle-aged, white couple stand beside each other smiling in the shade. The blonde woman, on the left, is wearing a navy blue Edmonton Oilers jersey. The man with short greying hair, on the right, is wearing a white Oilers jersey.
Lori Sajjad, left, and David Gusta, right, are big Edmonton Oilers fans. Attending games has created some core memories for their relationship, including their first date in 1997. (Sam Martin/CBC)

Face paint, orange glasses and pompoms, two hats, a pair of shoes, a hockey jersey and a onesie with a tutu — all of which show allegiance to the Edmonton Oilers — are among the paraphernalia with which Dan Shoemaker packed his suitcase Thursday.

Shoemaker, also known as Tutu Dan, first floated the idea of a trip to the Stanley Cup final when the playoffs started, assuming the Oilers made it that far. As the playoffs progressed, he convinced his wife to let him go, and sold his ticket to Game 6 of the western conference final to afford a plane ticket.

He secured an aisle seat to Florida on Sunday, minutes before the Oilers successfully fended off a desperate Dallas Stars squad and punched their ticket to face the Florida Panthers.

"The opportunity arose and I had to jump on it right away," Shoemaker said.

"I'm excited. It hasn't quite hit me yet, but once I'm down there and there are fans, I'm going to be pumped."

A man in blue-and-orange face paint, and a blue-and-orange Edmonton Oilers onesie, is standing up and cheering among the crowd at a hockey game.
Dan Shoemaker, shown here in his full game attire, is travelling to Florida for the first two games of the Stanley Cup final. (Submitted by Dan Shoemaker)

Edmonton fans, like Shoemaker, are flocking to Sunrise, Fla., for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, to witness the Oilers continue their endeavour to hoist the trophy for the sixth time in franchise history.

Four more wins would snap two decades-long droughts: the Oilers last won the Stanley Cup in 1990, and no Canadian NHL team has earned it since 1993.

WATCH | It's not just Oilers against Panthers — it's mayor versus mayor: 

It's not just Oilers against Panthers — it's mayor versus mayor

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Dean Trantalis, mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says he's ready to make a bet with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi on the outcome of the Stanley Cup final — and may even travel north to take in one of the games.

Oilers games account for some core memories throughout Lori Sajjad and David Gusta's 26 years together. Their first date was on Oct. 8, 1997, to watch Edmonton host the New York Rangers and they have followed the team together ever since, sometimes travelling to games.

"It's really more of a love story than an Oilers story," Gusta told CBC News, as the couple sat outside a Floridian restaurant. "Our first date was Oilers hockey. We went to the playoffs back in [Las] Vegas last year and now we're here again today.

"Getting married last year, it just ties it all together."

A white man and woman are in the stands of a hockey arena, with the ice behind them. The man, standing on the left, has his arm around the woman. They are both smiling and wearing Edmonton Oilers jerseys.
David Gusta holds up a phone, showing an old photo of he and his now wife at an Edmonton Oilers game years ago. (Sam Martin/CBC)

The couple attended games when the Oilers were last in the Stanley Cup final, in 2006. They booked tickets, expecting to get refunded, but the team rallied.

"It was very exciting and then we ate cheese and crackers for the next month or so," Sajjad said with a laugh, recalling how expensive the tickets were at the time.

Not everyone travelling from Edmonton is rooting for the Oilers, however.

Edmontonian Zack Lausen has cheered for the Florida Panthers ever since he met members of the 1996 team, which was swept in the Stanley Cup finals.

He has attended every Panthers-Oilers game in Edmonton ever since, but this weekend will be his first time attending a game in Florida, he said.

Two men are standing in the sunshine in front of a bar. The man on the left is wearing a grey t-shirt and blue Edmonton Oilers ball cap. The man on the right is wearing a blue t-shirt and a red Florida Panthers hat.
Cam Van De Walle, left, and Zack Lausen, right, are in Florida for the opening games of the Stanley Cup final. (Kory Siegers/CBC)

"I'm usually one of about 10 people in Edmonton," Lausen said.

"It will be a whole different scene for me here…. As the boys have been saying back home, 'You're going to be cheering with your own fans for once.'"

Puck drop for Game 1 between the Panthers and Oilers is set for 6 p.m. MT on Saturday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicholas Frew

Reporter

Nicholas Frew is a CBC Edmonton reporter who specializes in producing data-driven stories. Hailing from Newfoundland and Labrador, Frew moved to Halifax to attend journalism school. He has previously worked for CBC newsrooms in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Before joining CBC, he interned at the Winnipeg Free Press. You can reach him at [email protected].

    With files from Sam Samson, Travis McEwan and Anne Levasseur

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